Wet wipes have been made from a variety of materials. Wet wipes can be moistened with a variety of suitable wiping solutions. Typically, wet wipes have been stacked in a package in either a folded or unfolded configuration. For example, containers or dispensers for wet wipes have been available wherein each of the wet wipes stacked in the container has been arranged in a folded configuration such as a c-folded, z-folded or quarter-folded configuration as are well known to those skilled in the art. Sometimes the folded wet wipes have also been interfolded with the wet wipes immediately above and below in the stack of wet wipes. In an alternative configuration, the wet wipes have been placed in the container in the form of a continuous web of material which includes perforations to separate the individual wet wipes and which can be formed in a stack or wound into a roll for the group of wipes. Such wet wipes have been used for baby wipes, hand wipes, household cleaning wipes, industrial wipes and the like.
The conventional packages which contain wipes, such as those described above, have typically been designed to be positioned on a flat surface such as a countertop, changing table or the like. Such conventional packages have generally provided a plastic container, tub or package which provides a sealed environment for the wet wipes to ensure that they do not become overly dry. Some of the conventional packages have also been configured to provide one at a time dispensing of each wet wipe which can be accomplished using a single hand after the package has been opened. Such single handed, one at a time dispensing, often referred to as “pop-up” dispensing, is particularly desirable because the other hand of the user or care giver is typically required to be simultaneously used for other functions. For example, when changing a diaper product on an infant, the care giver typically uses one hand to hold and maintain the infant in a desired position while the other hand is attempting to dispense a baby wipe to clean the infant.
However, the dispensing of wipes from such conventional containers for wipes has not been completely satisfactory. For example, this is due at least in part to the ability of the package to visibly indicate whether a wipe in the container is in-position or not-in-position for pop-up dispensing before the container is opened and a wipe is desired. In particular, for example, this can concern the configuration and characteristics of the wipes, the container top and the pop-up format dispensing means for dispensing wipes in a group of wipes that are separably joined to each adjacent wipe in the group to provide pop-up dispensing once an initial wipe in the group is dispensed through the orifice. The present invention builds upon the teaching disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/538,711 filed Mar. 30, 2000 entitled “WET WIPE CONTAINER WITH FLEXIBLE ORIFICE” and that in U.S. Ser. No. 09/870,785 filed May 31, 2001 entitled “FLEXIBLE ORIFICE FOR WET WIPES DISPENSER”, both assigned to the assignee of the present application and which prior applications are incorporated fully herein by reference.